MANKATO -- Every once in a while something happens in court that makes me smile.

Take last Thursday.

I'm in court waiting for a defendant to appear before Judge Norbert Smith in Blue Earth County District Court.

There's a slew of people rolling through the legal process when an young, attractive co-ed steps up with her public defender before Judge Smith.

The attorney informs the judge that a plea has been reached where the female will plead guility to a charge of violating Mankato's Social Host ordiance. We come to learn that a party with underage drinkers was held at her residence. The plea would reduce the charge from a misdeamnor to petty misdemeanor.

While Judge Smith is reviewing the plea and her record, he discovers the young lady herself has six prior citations for underage consumption.

Smith tells the woman that he won't accept the arranged plea because of her past conduct.

So Smith sent the woman and her attorney packing, telling them they'd have to get the deal approved by the orginal judge who heard the case.

Too many times I've seen young people with multiple underage consumption violations simply go before a judge, get a fine and listen to a judge tell them 'not to do it again.'

In this case Smith held the woman accountable for her past.

We're not sure what happened when they made the case in front of the other judge. It's likely that judge accepted the deal and the woman skated.

But for a brief moment that woman had to accept that maybe her past was catching up with her.

MANKATO -- I'm a swimmer. Been jumping in the deep end of the pool since I was a toddler. I blame the year 1975 for my discomfort in wading into the Pacific Ocean in two weeks when I head to Los Cabos, Mexico. "Don't go in the water" is what the movie poster said. Damn you Peter Benchley. I was just ten years old when I read your book and saw the movie Jaws. Well, I had given in and agreed to at least give the ocean a shot. Then came today. At the daily media briefing by Mankato police, a long absent detective emerged and disclosed he was vacationing with family in Cancun. "Cool, I'm going to Mexico in a little over a week," this reporter disclosed. "We had a shark attack on our beach," said the detective. Sure enough. I Googled and plenty of shark attack stories Googled back. Stories of the Canadian nurse, who went into the ocean to cool off after a game of beach volleyball. Dozens of stories of whistles....and pictures...missing chunks of flesh...finding flesh floating in the salty water. She's alive and a story to tell. My story will be told from the pool and the beach. Wading in the ocean will likely be a game time decision.

MANKATO -- Over the course of a year I'll sit through hundrends of court hearings. For many of them I'm just a casual observer as you often have to sit through a handful or more of defendants before the person of interest takes his or her turn in front of the judge. In addition, I make at minimum a daily visit to the Blue Earth County Justice Center on my beat and I walk through the waiting area full of people waiting for their hearing. And I have to ask you....What are you thinking? Would kill you to put on a nice shirt and slacks to appear before the judge? I am amazed at what some people wear when then come to court. I guess first impressions are lost on alot of people. I've seen sweatpants. Grease-stained shirts. Torn jeans and beer company t-shirts. Most look more like they are heading to Old Country Buffet than a legal proceeding. So the next time you come to court for your third Driving After Revocation charge or your Minor Consumption Charge, hit the closet and put on something nice. Or at a minimum...clean. It's just a lack of respect to the court. Which is probably why you are in court in the first place.